8 Castles in Saga worth your time

Explore Kii Castle, an ancient mountain fortress with unique earthworks and historical significance.

What it is

• An ancient Japanese mountain castle.
• Built by the Yamato Imperial Court for defense.
• Construction in 665 is recorded in the Nihon Shoki.
• Designated a National Special Historic Site in 1954.

What to see

• Castle ruins spanning 60 hectares.
• Mostly earthwork walls, with stone walls in valleys.
• About 40 building foundation sites revealed by excavations.
• Four known castle gates, including two estimated locations.
• Three new water channels discovered during 2015 repairs.
• Only ancient mountain castle with four drainage facilities on one stone wall.

Read more about Kii Castle

Explore extensive ruins of a 16th-century castle, once a staging ground for invasions of Korea.

What it is

• A castle built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the late 16th century.
• Designated a Special National Historic Site.
• Selected as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles in 2006.
• Abandoned after Hideyoshi's death, its buildings moved to Karatsu Castle.

What to see

• Extensive castle ruins, a hirayamajiro type.
• Site of a five-story main keep and a palace.
• Remains of around 120 encampments nearby.
• Filming location for Akira Kurosawa's 'Ran'.
• Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum is adjacent to the site.

Official site

www.hajimari-nagoya.jp

Read more about Nagoya Castle

Explore ancient mountain castle ruins with unique stone structures and artifacts.

What it is

• An ancient mountain castle, designated a National Historic Site.
• Existence of structures reported in 1962.
• Designated a National Historic Site in 1966.

What to see

• Earthworks, sluices, and gates unearthed during excavations.
• Stone rows are 1866 meters long, 1280 meters remain.
• Cut stones are made of andesite.
• First sluice is in the southeast corner.
• Jomon pottery, stoneware, and Sue ware found at first sluice.
• East gate is a 3-meter gap in the stone rows.

Read more about Otsuboyama Kōgoishi

Explore a unique Edo-period flatland castle with wide moats and important historical gates.

What it is

• Completed in the early Edo period.
• Residence of the Nabeshima clan.
• Also known as "Sunken Castle" and "Turtle Shell Castle."
• Now a park, selected as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles.

What to see

• Flatland castle with a ring-shaped and trapezoidal complex structure.
• Moats over 50m wide, built with earthworks, not stone walls.
• Shachi-no-mon Gate and its attached turret.
• Gate and turret are National Important Cultural Properties.

Official site

sagajou.jp

Read more about Saga Castle

Explore an ancient mountain castle with extensive stone rows, a national historic site.

What it is

• An ancient mountain castle, Obukumayama Kōgoishi.
• Designated as a national historic site.
• Discovered during pond construction in 1941.
• Designated a historic site in 1951.

What to see

• Stone rows extend for about 2400 meters.
• Stone rows are mostly made of granite.
• Pillar holes in front of the stone rows.
• A gate slightly north of the highest peak.
• Gate has a 4.1-meter gap in the stone rows.
• Gate pillars are 4.5 meters apart.

Read more about Obukumayama Kōgoishi

Karatsu Castle: a reconstructed castle with historical grounds and views, easily accessible from the station.

What it is

• A castle known as Maizuru Castle.
• Constructed between 1602 and 1608.
• Served as the Karatsu Domain's administrative center.
• Designated a Continued Top 100 Japanese Castle in 2017.

What to see

• Original stone walls and moats.
• A simulated castle tower built in 1966.
• Maizuru Park on the castle grounds.
• A sloped elevator to the upper park area.

Getting there

• 15-minute walk from JR Karatsu Station.

Official site

www.karatsu-bunka.or.jp

Read more about Karatsu Castle

Explore the ruins of Suko Castle, once Saga Prefecture's largest and most impregnable fortress.

What it is

• A Japanese castle from the Sengoku period.
• Known for its impregnable defense system.
• Largest castle complex in Saga Prefecture.
• Residence of the Hirai clan during the Muromachi period.

What to see

• Ruins of a large hirayama castle.
• Site of a former capital of a large domain.

Read more about Suko Castle

Explore Anegawa Castle ruins, a 14th-century flatland mountain castle and national historic site.

What it is

• A Japanese flatland mountain castle.
• Built in 1360 by Kikuchi Takeyasu.
• Occupied by the Anegawa clan.
• Designated a national historic site in 2010.

What to see

• Castle ruins.
• Excavated moated settlement.

Read more about Anegawa Castle